Reader Letter | Affordable housing fund needs funding

Over the last several years, the lack of safe, decent and affordable housing in Louisville has grown from a problem to a genuine crisis. Last school year, more than 11,000 children in JCPS - over 11 percent of all students - experienced homelessness. That number has more than doubled since just eight years ago. Children deserve an opportunity to succeed in school and in life, and that begins with a place to call home.

Over the same eight-year period, the number of families on the waiting list for housing assistance at the Louisville Metro Housing Authority has also more than doubled, from 11,000 families in 2004, to 25,000 families now. The mother of one such family is Patricia McQueen. Patricia's family has been on the city's waiting list since 2007. While Patricia has been working full time to try to provide for her children, her family has gone from number 8,000 on the list, up to 800, and now back down to 2,000. During this time, her children have slept on floors, couches and pallets in the homes of numerous friends and relatives. Hardworking families should not have to choose between paying rent and buying food for their children, yet that is the choice tens of thousands of Louisvillians make every single day.

That is why Louisville needs to fund the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund. A trust fund is a proven-to-work solution to this crisis. Research into hundreds of trust funds that exist throughout the United States clearly demonstrates that dedicating an ongoing source of public revenue to a trust fund is the most effective way to provide homes for hardworking families. However, the benefits of doing so extend far beyond housing. An economic impact analysis focused on Louisville found that investing in the trust fund would create 1,120 jobs in the first year alone and yield at least a 600 percent return on investment for our city, including increased income for local businesses and significantly higher revenues from existing city taxes.

In 2008, CLOUT helped bring together almost 100 local stakeholders from both the for-profit and nonprofit communities to address this crisis. As a result of that work, Metro Council voted 25-1 to establish a trust fund based on national best practices, and approved a goal of investing $10 million annually in various affordable housing strategies. Unfortunately, at that time the most important element for the trust fund to succeed - a dedicated source of funding - was not included. Therefore, while the trust fund stands ready to bring homes, jobs, and revenue to our city, it cannot do so as a fund without funds. Meanwhile, every day more of our children, veterans and seniors suffer from not being able to afford housing.

With 1,600 citizens in attendance at CLOUT's Nehemiah Assembly last April, we were pleased to secure Mayor Greg Fischer's commitment to make it a priority of the first year of his administration to secure an ongoing, dedicated source of public revenue for the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund. (This commitment can be found on the mayor's website at http://services.louisvilleky.gov/media/lahtf/AHTF-timeline.pdf. While the mayor has not yet fulfilled that commitment, we call upon him to do so with the urgency that the crisis demands.)

Mayor Fischer and other city leaders talk frequently about the need for Louisville to create jobs, address the budget deficit, and be a compassionate city. Just last week, Louisville was presented with an award as the "World's No. 1 City of Compassion." We challenge Mayor Fischer and Metro Council to live up to that talk, and to that award, by truly making it a top priority to "Fund the Fund." It will take political courage and vision to meet this challenge, but cities that have shown that courage and vision - like Indianapolis, St. Louis, Columbus and Atlanta - have reaped the rewards of homes, jobs and revenue for their communities.

On April 19, CLOUT will hold our annual Nehemiah Assembly, the largest gathering of citizens in Louisville all year to address community problems. Metro Council President Jim King will participate in that assembly, and we are hopeful other members of Metro Council - all of whom have been invited - will join him. We are also hopeful that Mayor Fischer will once again participate to recommit his leadership to addressing this crisis. Finally, we challenge the entire community to rally around this effort to bring homes, jobs and revenue to our city. To support this work, contact us at (502) 583-1267 or clout@bellsouth.net.

Dr. CHRISTOPHER KOLB

St. Francis of Assisi -

Catholic Church -

HUGH ELLA ROBINSON

Westwood Presbyterian Church -

co-presidents, CLOUT -

Louisville 40202 -

Louisville, Kentucky • Southern Indiana

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Reader Letter | Affordable housing fund needs funding

Over the last several years, the lack of safe, decent and affordable housing in Louisville has grown from a problem to a genuine crisis. Last school year, more than 11,000 children in JCPS ? over 11